Presentation from the potential of Localism to unlock Transition workshop
By Laura Whitehead 27th September 2012
A presentation from the ‘The potential of Localism to unlock Transition’ workshop held at the Transition Network Conference.
Dave Chapman presented on the new powers that the recent Localism Act and the changes to the planning system in England and Wales potentially give to Transition initiatives. (scroll to the bottom of the full article to download the presentation as a PDF)
The theme of the overall workshop: The UK government’s localism agenda has, in just two years, completely rewritten how planning works in England and Wales. In many ways it is a double-edged sword, many of the tools it gives to communities remain untested. The rights to build, to bid, to challenge, Neighbourhood Planning, all offer organisations focused on intentional localisation and resilience building some powerful tools. But what are they, and how best to use them?
This workshop was chaired by Transition Network’s Rob Hopkins, and included Dave Chapman, Head of Social Action at Locality who is one of the leading authorities on localism, Frances Northrop from Transition Town Totnes who spoke about how they are using these powers in Totnes, and Philip Revell from Sustaining Dunbar, who are taking a similarly strategic approach and will talked about how this differs and Scotland and what can be learnt from there.